Novels are such mysterious and amorphous and tender things. And here we are with our crash helmets on, with concertina wire all around us.

There's no division on my bookshelf between fiction and nonfiction. As far as I'm concerned, fiction is about the truth.

When people stop some film from being shot or burn a book, it's not just that they are saying, this is against Indian culture. They are also saying, you Westernized, elite, English-speaking people are having too much of a good time. It's a very interesting phenomenon.

I could weep for a river-valley, and I have. But for a country? Oh man, I don't know.

Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.

The writer is the midwife of understanding.

If he touched her, he couldn't talk to her, if he loved her he couldn't leave, if he spoke he couldn't listen, if he fought he couldn't win.